Wednesday, May 14. 2014

Is the location of the cause of CTS only at the wrist? From my recent experience I am beginning to doubt it.

Patients with CTS like symptoms are regularly encountered in this office. We have successfully treated many who had 'grip weakness', numbness, tingling, shooting pains and muscle wasting in their hands.

It can be easily demonstrated that the teeth are causing the pain, numbness and tingling feelings in the hands at the time of the consultation. You do not have to wait for months or years to see if a certain treatment has worked...............
................It is noteworthy that patients with 'CTS' have a degree of neck pain and stiffness. Many grind their teeth, have difficulty opening their mouth fully or have jaw pains. Palpating the Lateral Pterygoid muscle causes severe pain.

Furthermore the muscles at the base of the back of the head and the sterno mastoid muscles are found to be stiff and very painful. Shoulder pains are also common.

Many patients also suffer from an irritable bowel which brings about symptoms of Rheumatic inflammation in the wrist area which causes further exasperation of the symptoms. The confirmation is provided by the fact that most patients find the symptoms worse on waking up.

This is when the breathing mechanism has been at its worst during the night which causes a worsening of the 'rheumatic' inflammatory aspect of the inflamed wrist compromising the nerve supply. The blood vessels also get compressed and perhaps that is what further causes the muscle wasting.

Surgical attention often fails and therefore there is no harm done trying an alternative more definitive treatment. Like all other illnesses the earlier the treatment is started the more likely that it will resolve quickly.